Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-11-06
A QUEER DORKING.
snlius cesar's InvssioR-The Earning Of
the villass-origin Of Its
rame

huge. dark mass OF Box Hill, has been
rs iiercely contested by those learned /
men" who are 200 learned 10 be in /
,iructive. as the origin Of Stonchengc or
,he identity Of tho Man with the Iron
Mask. In truth, tho English savants
sppear TO make as free with the
p1me of Dorking ns the Assy- /
rams. according 10 Washington IT.
,ipC. did with that of Noah-"the
haldeans, too, preserved the tradition
Noah. merely changing his name 10
suthrus, triAng alteration with
nch no antiquary will be disposed to
.,rrel" One eminent etymo,ogist
.uycs Dorking from the Celtic
,trach." (oak, and makes cling"
..lV aff1. like Mac" or "son in
iac.. turning the town into the
seat Of the Oakley or Oakley clan,
and giving to 1t the public credit of
having given birth to the ancestors OF
Mr.. Oakley Hall Another, laying stress +
upon the fact Of the Saxon d" D and
9TH being convertible. turns Dorhng
into Thorking, and derives it from tho
scandinavian thunder god, Thor.
third declares Just as positively that the T.
name comes from "Dor (water) and {
wicingas' Gnhabitants), aud signifies
dwellers near the streams while "A
fourth Is equally certain that II Is a cor
ruption OF Doloclnda dale OF
springs), and fifth boldly asserts that
Dorking should really be Barking"
iuasmuch as a traveller coming from
London would not reach 1t till after
dark.
Among so many conflicting theories it
is strange that no phlloiogist should
ever have thought of making out the
name 10 bo merely an ingenious mta-
ton of the cluckiug OF those famous
Dorkinc fowls which are SAID to have
made this region famous in days when
Vespassn's lcgions were eucampcd on
Ieith Hill and Ansticbury Rise, and
when the echoes of Box Hill wero
awakened bv the blast of Roman trum-
nets. instead Of tho whistle Of the Lon
don and Brighton trains. Columella. in
his treatise, ODE Re Rustlca, (which
treats Of the various breeds OF poultry
among other matters, gives a very iull
and minute description of the Dorking
hsn, which he concludes by saying
"Ihey are considered to he Of the best
breed because they have five toes
apiece
Dorking has other titles to renown,
however, besides its tiye-clawed poultry
or the famous prophetic satire which Sc
lectad it as the scene of Eng .ands final
over throw by the invading armies of
Germany. The "White Horse dis
pute, with the "Old Kings Head the
Eonn Of representing the now world
fsmeo Marks % CRANKY Inn, where
the hry. Mr. Stggins used 10 drink
pineauple rum with Mrs. Weller. and
where tine irreverent Mr. Weller duck F.
ed him in the horse-trOuGh after
previously pounding him to Jcl- f.
". There still linger in the older .
parts Of the town afew aged people who .
retain a vague memory OF having seen .
in their youth burlv, rod-facod, elderly .
stage.drive- very appropriately named .
William Broad whose homoly wit, stur- +
DIV independence of bearing, and rooted .
objection to ladies in general and widows
in particular are supposed to have fur
nished the model OF Sam Weller's i'm
mortal father to n brght-eyed young
fellow who came down to Dorking on "a
Hvinr visit from London more than fifty
wears ago. and who afterward attained
some potoretv under the name OF Charles
Dickens.
Another distinguished visitor ira
versed this quiet little valley not many
years later in equally Characteristic
fashion. One hot summer day, not long
after the close OF the Crimean war, tall,
crEye-looking man in a plain gray suit,
with q high, massive forehead over
abandoning his large, deep, earnest
ewes. came tramping along the dusty
highway that leads northward from
Dorkiug to London, and stopped at
small roadside tavern for some
reireshment before pursuing ms
march. When he came out again,
the host himself was standing IN
the doorway, profering a trimming
Oulrt.pot Of foaming beer to a group OF
thirsty lahOrers who were feeling IN their
pockets with meful faces in tine vain
hope of finding a few pennies to pay for
the coveted treat. The tall stranger
sight Of whom the landlord gave a visi-
lie start and bowed most respectfully
at once discharged their score as well as
ms own. and then started of at brisk
pace toward London, while the rejoicing
workmep-who eagerly inquired the
this kindness-were amazed to learn
that lie was no other than Lord Ma
Callay.
The first appearance Of the Dorking
Valley in history dates back TO sunny
autumn afternoon in the first century
before the Christian era, when the blast
Of q Roman trumpet awakened all the
echoes OF the surrounding hills and
long line OF helmeted spearmen, with
the eagle standard of Rome clttcring
above them, came pouring through the
pass between Box Hill and Denhics.
while the white-cloRked CanSian war
liors worthy ancestors Of the sturdy
"Kentishmen of our own time) shook .
their clumsy broadswords and long boar
spsars in impotsnt menace from the
wooded rides overhead. In front
of his men, marching on foot Ike
the rest. came the General him
self. a tall, noble-looking man Of mid
die age, with face which, though worn
and wasted, was still stnhingy hand
some, and keen black eve, tle piercing
glance Of which few men could meet AN
moved This man WAS already one of
the foremost personages of his time. AID
tutIt were lew ldito OF lut turu hub"D
world where he had not left his mark
but even he soldiers, who idolzed him,
and the enemies, to whom his very name
was a terror, were probably for from
guessing that countless centuries after
the last vestige Of Roman dominion had
vanished from the earth the remotest
corners Of the civilized world would
still be echoing with the fame Of julius
Cesar.
Tine rolled on. ard beneath the pro
toctipg shadow Of the vast chalk ridge
OF Box Hill, just at the mouth of the
pass through which Caesar had marched
with his legionaries. there grew up one
of those tiny clusters Of wicEor-Nork
novels smeared with mud which the
British sayages Of the period lwho were
70 civilized Rome what the Zuus or tie
Soudanese are TO Ourselves) used TO call
Gvillage, as well they might in lana